Title: The involvement process through social media in 2010 UK elections: is it a real Facebook-based participation?

Authors: Marco Artusi; Andrea Maurizzi

Addresses: Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Viale Allegri 9, Reggio Emilia, Italy. ' Faculty of Communication Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Viale Allegri 9, Reggio Emilia, Italy

Abstract: This paper focuses on the methods of generating participation on Facebook, by analysing UK General Elections 2010. In particular, the analysis investigates which are the communication strategies used by the three main parties that are able to elicit participation of Facebook users. As far as the use of the internet for election campaigns is concerned, the most interesting experiences seem to follow an evolution from the traditional party organisation to a more innovative digital participative organisation. In this scenario we need to focus on internet and social media potential around mobilisation, organisation and participation. Starting from data collected on the Facebook pages of the three main candidates, we verify if participation level increases with the number of posts written by the party, by writing call to action posts, by writing posts about the candidate, and if the issues addressed in the post influence the participation level.

Keywords: political marketing; social networks; social media marketing; Facebook users; UK general election; 2010 election; United Kingdom; user behaviour; social media involvement; internet marketing; political participation; election campaigns; communication strategies; participation levels.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2011.045910

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2011 Vol.6 No.4, pp.305 - 315

Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

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